Got a couple new pieces up at Entertainium
First is a review for MIO: Memories In Orbit, a fantastic metroidvania that is an especially good platformer (it's also very pretty).
Constantly chaining actions together in one smooth motion, sometimes with little time to react to what’s next, is tricky but extremely gratifying. The longest and most challenging sequences have you moving through winding tunnels lined with deep red foliage, tendrils slowly reaching toward you as you pass by, without ever being able to set foot on solid ground, every corner adding some new complication to the road ahead. MIO‘s platforming is at its strongest and most demanding in these moments. Every single one of her abilities are put to use, the game constantly making you walk a knife’s edge with each new maneuver.
Next is a piece on Lil Gator Game's DLC. I really enjoyed the original game and this is a great addition.
Lil Gator Game’s strengths came from how well it leveraged the small, densely packed islands it’s set on. They’re a literal playground for you to clamber around. The caverns of In the Dark still embody that same playful energy, every nook and cranny filled with stuff to find. The more complex geometry of the underground is slightly more involved to navigate due to the reduction of sight-lines to find landmarks, which makes it easy to get turned around and trickier to get your bearings.
One thing I didn't include in this nor the original piece is how the game is able to actually make jokes about videogames in a way that isn't annoying because it is a game that inherently plays with the artifice of the medium. It can actually poke fun at the nature of videogames because it isn't trying to do the classic "make you do thing that sucks while making everyone talk about how much it sucks." Everyone's engaging in the game in good fun and willingly playing along with the fake videogame framework, so whatever jokes and such that happen are done in good faith and actually work.
There's a fun moment with a guy who sells bracelets that increase your maximum stamina, each one adding one extra wheel. When you buy the final one, he reveals they didn't actually do anything ("the power was within you all along!"). So of course this leads to, rather than a mere fourth stamina wheel, infinite stamina. Because if they never actually mattered to begin with, then remove the limitations in favor of what's more fun. It's also just a good reward for seeking all the upgrades.